Aeroflex sales dip, but still reports a profit

Aeroflex Holding Corp. Inc., a Plainview-based maker of high-tech communication equipment, said it swung from a loss to a profit during the last quarter despite lower sales.

The company’s net income was $17.2 million during its fourth fiscal quarter of 2012, which included April, May and June. That’s compared to a $21.6 million loss for the same period last year, when the company’s bottom line took a $34.2 million hit from one-time debt-related expenses.

Sales during the recent quarter, however, dropped to $184.7 million, down 7 percent from last year. The slowing revenue stemmed largely from a drop in sales in the company’s wireless test unit.

“I am disappointed with our financial results but I am convinced our products, technology, people and focus on operations will contribute to a better year in 2013,”  Aeroflex chief executive Leonard Borow said.

Aeroflex manufactures testing and measuring equipment and advanced microelectronic multichip modules for airborne, space, shipboard, ground-based and commercial avionics and telecom systems. The company built some of the hardware aboard Mars rover Curiosity, which landed on the Red Planet last week.

Aeroflex derives about 30 percent of its $729 million in annual revenue from the U.S. government, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The company employs 2,800 people worldwide, including 288 in Plainview and Hauppauge.